Karen Read wrongful death suit: Proctor deposed, while Turtleboy, McCabes, Alberts sought

Flint McColgan, Boston Herald on Jun 26, 2026

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BOSTON — Fired Trooper Michael Proctor sat for at least the beginning of his deposition, but many more depositions are — tentatively — lined up in the wrongful death suit against Karen Read and a couple of Canton bars.

“Sounds like we’re trying but we’re not getting very far,” Judge Mark Gildea said in the middle of a short virtual hearing in Plymouth Superior Court Friday as lawyers for the many parties discussed efforts and setbacks in getting all their depositions sorted.

Proctor’s deposition, which is closed-door testimony under oath, began Thursday. It was a very long time coming, with reams of printer paper dedicated to his attorneys trying to get out of a deposition and Read’s attorneys trying to get him to do it.

Even still, Read attorney Aaron Rosenberg reported in Friday’s hearing that Proctor arrived 21/2 hours late, forcing the deposition to begin at around 12:30 p.m., and then left by 5 o’clock — both timings at Proctor’s request.

Some upcoming depositions — or efforts to obtain depositions — include some big names for close Read case-watchers. Those include Aidan “Turtleboy” Kearney, multiple members of the Albert and McCabe families, and Brian Tully, who was the chief of the Massachusetts State Police detective unit stationed at the Norfolk DA’s office, which was responsible for the O’Keefe death investigation.

Proctor served as the lead investigator in the death of Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe, whose body was discovered cold in the snow on the front lawn of the Canton home of fellow Boston cop Brian Albert on Jan. 29, 2022. Within days, Read — who was O’Keefe’s girlfriend — was charged in connection to the death and would later that year be indicted for his murder.

Read was tried for O’Keefe’s murder twice. Prosecutors allege that Read slammed her SUV into O’Keefe right in front of that front lawn following yet another argument in a troubled relationship complicated by a night of heavy drinking at two Canton bars: CF McCarthy’s and the Waterfall Bar & Grill.

Those two bars are her co-defendants in the wrongful death suit filed by the O’Keefe family between when Read’s first trial ended in mistrial and when her second trial began. The suit was put on hold until the conclusion of that second trial, which ended in her acquittal in O’Keefe’s murder.

Following her acquittal, the MSP fired Proctor. During the first trial, he was confronted with text messages he sent that both shared privileged information with old high school buddies and demeaned Read, including with juvenile and nasty remarks about a medical condition she suffered.

Proctor at first fought to win his job back but then dropped the fight. Attorneys across the many, many lawsuits filed in the aftermath of the trials have unearthed a trove of text messages featuring obscene and racist text messages that Read’s attorneys said showed him to be a “virulent bigot.”

Defense attorneys in other cases Proctor investigated have been combing these disclosures for evidence that investigations against their own clients were biased — which could serve as exculpatory evidence or possibly see them dismissed.

Attorney Dan Buck, who is representing the O’Keefe family in the lawsuit, says his team deposed Read herself over a full day this week. He also said that they deposed Kaitlin Boudreau, Read’s sister-in-law, on June 17.

He added that he is looking to compel more testimony from Read and also to compel the deposition of Aidan Kearney, who on blogs, social media, and YouTube covered the case from a staunch pro-Read perspective under the “Turtleboy” brand. Kearney faces criminal witness intimidation charges related to his efforts.

Read’s team says it deposed Allison McCabe, whose mother Jennifer McCabe is the sister of Nicole Albert, who lived with her husband Brian Albert at 34 Fairview Road in Canton where O’Keefe’s body was found. The date of that deposition wasn’t shared in the hearing.

While those already took place, other depositions attorneys brought up seem to be on a schedule that is constantly on the move.

Read’s attorneys have now-retired MSP detective Brian Tully scheduled to be deposed July 8, but Tully’s attorneys are challenging that. He said his team will be filing motions to compel that deposition, as well as one for Colin Albert. Attorney Damon Seligson said that a representative of the Town of Canton is scheduled for July 13.

Attorneys representing the bars, John Dealey for the Waterfall and Kristyn St. George for CF McCarthy’s, also confirmed some upcoming depositions.

Dealey says his team has scheduled depositions in July for Michael Camerano, a close and longtime friend of O’Keefe’s, and Caitlin Albert, who were each at the Waterfall, as well as an MSP forensic scientist. He added that Karina and Nicholas Kolokithas, who both testified in the first trial of meeting with O’Keefe and Read at the Waterfall, are scheduled for July 29.

The case’s next hearing is scheduled for July 10.